ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the potential for family and close friends to intervene and support officers at risk of suicidal ideation. To enable family and friends to support an officer to whom they may be emotionally close, the chapter identifies and examines the warning signs and indicators which the officer contemplating suicide may reveal to them. It examines family and friends' appropriate responses to the suicidal officer. With specific reference to family and friends, Owens comment that an awareness of the signs of suicide, combined with an appropriate response, may be additionally complicated by the family and friends' 'proximity to the suicidal person and emotional investment in the relationship'. The chapter identifies some of the major misconceptions and offers responses which may be helpful to those wishing to offer their support. If a greater understanding of suicidal ideation is to be gained by family members and friends, it is important to dispel any misconceptions about suicide that they may hold.
